One thing that characterizes constipation is irregular and infrequent bowel movement. One of the common causes for this condition is poor diet or poor eating habits. People who live a sedentary lifestyle are also vulnerable. People who are suffering from this condition tend to experience difficult bowel movement. There are certain measures that are effective in treating this condition.

Preventive Measures

Eight to ten glasses of lukewarm water throughout the day is a good way to deal with this condition. With water, the body can flush out the toxins in the body, keeping your body in good health. Foods that are good sources of fiber like vegetables and fruits are the types of foods that you should be eating. Certain vegetables that should be on your diet are spinach, whole grains, peas, kidney beans, green beans, and spinach. Foods that are rich in fiber will help the body pass stools without straining. It is best to keep red meat to a minimum. Also limit the amount of bread, cheese and processed foods. You can also maintain a strong digestive system if you take regular walks.

If the person suffering from this condition is a baby, a stool softener can be of great help. Two servings of apple juice or pear juice are recommended on a daily basis. It is also helpful to rub your baby’s stomach.

Fruit juices are helpful in the slow passage of food into the intestine. Foods that are rich in fiber, for example; prunes, cereals, bananas, apples, and peas can help prevent constipation. It is also helpful to have a warm bath. Herbal tea or natural laxatives are also beneficial.

Home Treatments

The following remedies at home will relieve you from the condition of constipation

• Exercise will speed up the process of moving food in the digestive system.

• Sesame seeds make a great roughage supplement. Taking half an ounce of sesame seeds with water will make the stools in the intestine softer.

• Apple cider vinegar holds a water soluble fiber called pectin. Pectin is helpful in the regulation of the stomach acid levels, improving the digestive process. Drinking two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed with 8 oz. of water three times a day will provide instant relief.

• One can take honey and blackstrap molasses in equal amounts on occasion. There is a high amount of calories in both of these. Since honey can act like a laxative, you can effectively prevent constipation if you take three spoons of honey in a day.

• Two tablespoons of castor oil in warm milk could be consumed once every two days.

• One other remedy at home for quick relief is an Indian Ayurvedic medicine called Triphala churna. Triphala powder mixed with water is also effective for constipation.

• Lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water is a common remedy at home.

• A morning cup of fresh orange juice and a daily apple is helpful.

• Use of cumin powder, coriander, asafetida and other herbs while cooking will make the foods easier to digest.

• Potato and tomato juice consumption is also beneficial.

More Remedies for treating constipation

As stated before, drinking natural fruit juices and water is the most effective method for quick treatment of constipation. Herbal tea is popularly used at home in treating constipation. While suffering from constipation, it is important to live an active lifestyle with a lot of exercise. Improvement of bowel movement can be effectively achieved with beans and some green leafy vegetables. Your options are spinach, dried peas, lima beans, chickpeas, black-eyed beans and broccoli, as well as many other types of food.

Strep throat is a bacterial infection which is normally accompanied by, but not restricted to the tonsils. While a child may have surgery to remove tonsillitis, they may still contract strep throat. In addition, a tonsillectomy may not always be a suitable means of treatment for some children. A tonsillectomy procedure may only be suggested in cases where a child has been suffering from tonsillitis or strep throat that recurs throughout a year, regardless of prompt medical attention. In order to determine if a child should have a tonsillectomy, a few aspects must be taken into consideration. With every type of surgery there will be a risk of bleeding. Also, there are some cases where complications can occur with the use of anesthesia. It is important for the overall health of the child to be analyzed before any surgery is suggested.

While common amongst teenagers and children, this is a throat infection that can occur in all age groups. The gram-positive bacterium known as streptococcus pyogenes is responsible for this infection. Streptococcus pyogenes is a strain that is part of the Group A Streptococcus bacterium. It can survive in the nose and throat for months at a time without creating any symptoms. For those who are immunocompromised, this strain can multiply and become virulent. The presence of M proteins in the bacterium cell walls along with its ability to produce exotoxins, is what allows this bacterium to cause impetigo, scarlet fever, sore throats and other medical conditions.

The bacterium itself is easily transmittable via direct contact or inhaling the respiratory secretions of those affected. It has an incubation period of two to five days. An incubation period is the time frame between exposure to the bacteria causing the condition up until the first signs and symptoms appearing. The risk of infecting others is very high from the time of exposure until symptoms appear.

While the test for strep throat can be a bit unpleasant, doctors prefer to confirm a diagnosis before administering a treatment. In order to test for the streptococcus bacteria, a culture is collected from the secretions found at the back of one’s throat. It is collected by the use of a swab, likened to that of a large Q-tip. When having the back of the throat rubbed by this swab, some patients experience a gag reflex. In most cases a doctor will use a rapid test in the office to test the secretions, allowing for results to be given within a 15 minute period. In some instances a test will come back as negative, but the doctor still feels that the symptoms present are that of strep throat. In these situations he will send the sample off to a lab to be tested further, which can take up to 48 hours. He will also treat the patient for strep throat. Read more at http://www.healthinesslab.com for more information about strep throat.

Diagnosis and Treatment

To determine the nature of a throat infection, certain tests will be given. The following tests can help determine and diagnose if strep throat is present.

Rapid strep test

Throat swab

The treatment itself will involve using antibiotics such as cephalexin, amoxicillin, cefadroxil, azithromycin, and cefprozil. Completing the full course of antibiotics prescribed is essential. To leave strep throat untreated could mean having the bacterium remaining contagious for a few weeks. It is also possible for others to have the bacterium transmitted to them by someone who has only started to take the antibiotics, making the patient contagious for a couple of days once treatment has begun. This is why it is necessary for the person affected, as well as family members, to take precautions. There are some home remedies which can be helpful in relieving symptoms, such as drinking herbal teas and gargling with warm saline water.

Part of the lymphatic system includes the occipital lymph glands, or nodes, which number between 1-3. In regards to the body’s immune system, the lymphatic system is considered the auxiliary unit. It is these two systems together which work to fight against disease causing micro-organism likes viruses and bacteria. With the exclusion of the central nervous system, all of the organs in the body are protected by the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system itself is made of a combination of ducts, nodes, lymphatic capillaries, and body organs such as the tonsils and spleen to name a few. Lymph nodes are more prominently found is areas such as the neck, armpits, back of the head, behind the ears, under the jaw and chin, and in the groin area. The nodes themselves are shaped like beans. Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, are what helps the lymph nodes in fighting infections.

Lymph itself comes in the form of a clear liquid which seeps from the blood vessels and cells. It collects between spaces found in the body cells. The lymph capillaries collect the lymph liquid which are then passed on to the lymph nodes by the vessels and ducts. In the lymph nodes, lymphocytes will act against any micro-organisms that are found. From there the lymph travels through the lymphatic system where it ends up in our blood circulatory system.

The occipital lymph nodes are found near the muscles that run between the neck and head. These nodes transport lymph from the region located at the back of the head. Afferent lymph vessels that run from these nodes will receive lymph from the occipital region of the scalp. Efferent vessels that lead away from them will drain to the superior deep cervical lymph nodes. In the process of combating micro-organism it is possible for the lymph nodes themselves to be affected by the infection. These nodes are 1-2 cm in size and are small, ball or oval shaped. When they fall prey to infection they will enlarge enough for us to know that there is a problem.

Lymphadenopathy is what doctors use to refer to the swelling of occipital lymph nodes. Generally, when our immune system is being attacked by pathogens, it will go all out to fight against them. Likewise, when these pathogens are present in the lymph nodes, it causes the lymphocytes to fight back. As information of these actions are sent back to the immune system, through the assistance of hormones or neurotransmitters, it causes more warrior like cells to be sent to these nodes. It is the increase in number of these body cells at the location which leads to the enlarging of the occipital or suboccipital lymph glands. As a result, inflammation of the lymphadenitis nodes occurs. It is quite common to develop an itchy scalp caused by the irritation of these nodes. The swelling of the lymph nodes adds stress to the nerves which are in surrounding areas and can cause one to experience stiffness and pain in the neck. While accumulation of debris is the main cause of these nodes becoming enlarged, other causes such as the presence or multiplication of body cells (microphages or monocytes) can cause this as well.

Your doctor will start you on a course of antibiotics or antifungal cream, depending on the type of infection causing the ailment in the occipital lymph nodes. Further testing may be required in cases where an MRSA infection is the cause, because this can easily overcome most commonly used antibiotics. For lice or ringworm, a doctor will prescribe the appropriate medications. If cancer is the underlying issue then further testing would be needed to determine the origin, how far it has spread, and whether or not surgery will be needed to remove these occipital nodes.

Dental restorations, also referred to as tooth fillings, are frequently performed in an attempt to preserve the distinctive characteristics of missing dental structures and their morphologies. In most cases, a decaying tooth is generally the number one contributing factor as to why health care providers and dentists recommend tooth fillings. There are quite a few techniques that can be applied in order to identify the severity and degree of tooth decay, and also to determine the necessity of performing a tooth filling procedure. These analyzing techniques include X-rays, cavity detecting dyes, and general observations.

If the cavity or tooth is allergic to silver amalgam used for the tooth filling, or if the tooth isn’t filled correctly, than an individual may experience severe and excessive tooth pain as a result of the allergy. Listed below are a few of the most common reasons why individuals may experience excessive pain following the cavity filling procedure:

Misshapen Fillings: The filling of the tooth needs to be polished correctly in order to ensure that there aren’t any interruptions to the routine functions of the jaw and tooth; however, there are rare cases where the filling isn’t polished correctly, causing trouble to the dental filling and cavity. In these rare cases, the shape of the filling needs to be retained after the swelling of the tissue surrounding the tooth has subsided.

Referred Pain: Nerves of the neighboring teeth often receive broadcast signals coming from the nerves of the tooth being filled. This is often the main reason for the pain caused to an individual after receiving a cavity filling. After receiving the filling, severe pain can be caused by teeth that weren’t even involved in the procedure.

Trauma: After a tooth filling procedure has been performed, there are situations where the pulp of the tooth may experience an abrupt shock, causing extreme pain after the filling procedure has been performed. Tooth pain resulting from the filling procedure may imply that the inner tissue wasn’t as healthy as originally suspected. If this type of tooth pain is persistent, then a root canal is generally recommended.

Post Root Canal: After a root canal procedure has been performed, the soft tissues near the affected tooth are removed. Many of these tissues often get forced to the end of an affected tooth. This process often causes excessive pain in the tooth after the root canal procedure has been performed. Of course, the dentist is not responsible for this type of tooth pain because even if the root canal procedure was carried out perfectly, pain is commonly experienced as a result of the procedure.

There are several alternatives for the relief of tooth pain. Returning to the same dentist that originally performed the root canal and reporting the excessive pain is recommended, especially when the pain persists for the duration of two weeks or more following the procedure. The dentist will then prescribe any number of medications to provide some sort of pain relief resulting from the procedure.

Aromatherapy and acupressure can also be useful home remedies for providing relief of tooth pain, and there several types of desensitizing toothpastes that can be useful as well. Returning to the dentist for a routine follow-up after receiving a tooth filling can be extremely beneficial to avoid excessive tooth pain.